- I don't own what I don't own (but I do own
Project: Demonhunter, it's associated characters, concepts of
mythological figures, and settings), and I don't actively look for
other stories and plots, so if you see something familiar… just
remember that by this day and age, everything's been done to death.
This is just my take on a span of time with the events therein, and
it's really for the development of my characters. It's just
easier for me if they go play in worlds that are already established.

- The Hell Council is made up of leaders of the
Underworld from around the planet and cover the majority of major
belief systems. I mean no harm in any which way if anyone is
offended, but I would appreciate if some research was done before
flames are passed out.

If you would like to see any illustrations
done to go with these stories, or images of the characters from
Project: Demonhunter, please visit the links on my user page.

Deep in the Underworld, there stands a place
that not many people talk about… largely because they don't know
it exists. This is the headquarters of Supernatural Control, lead by
the Hell Council. It's members have long since stopped the war
between Heaven and Hell, and have come into some semblance of a
decent working environment. Gone are the days of epic temptations and
salvations, pious heroes and sinful villains… that is not to say
that these things do not still exist, but it is now on the shoulders
of Supernatural Control to guide the balance between darkness and
light.

The following is one of the many exploits that
the employees of this organization have embarked on...

[Friendship, Maine – November 1995

Kat Harvey stared off into space, watching the
first snowflakes of the season drift past her window as she pondered
a particularly hard math equation from the seat by her bedroom
window.

She was brought back to earth by a black sedan
that pulled up outside the gates of the manor, idling for a few
moments as a curly haired blond woman in dark clothes emerged, looked
up at the house, and stuck her head back into the vehicle to speak to
the driver.

The car drove off as the woman headed up the walk
to the manor, adjusting her hairband so the wind wouldn't take it
off her head. Kat watched the woman for a few moments, realizing she
was staring when the woman suddenly made eye contact and smiled at
the dark haired girl.

Kat blinked and disappeared from the window,
emerging from her room and heading downstairs to her father's
study.

"Dad, are you expecting someone?" Kat called
out as she descended the stairs.

"Not to my knowledge… why?" Dr. Harvey
emerged from his study.

"There's some woman walking up to the house."
Kat motioned to the door.

"It's probably some paranormal enthusiast…
or a 'psychic'." Dr. Harvey made air quotes at the last word as
he approached the door. "I'll handle it."

Just as the woman raised her hand to knock on the
door, Dr. Harvey opened it. "Sorry, this is a private residence."

"Oh… I'm sorry… I thought the McFadden
family lived here." The woman seemed honestly shocked that a living
person opened the door.

"They've been dead for years…" Dr. Harvey
raised an eyebrow.

"I know." The woman smiled. "I'm their
caseworker."

"Excuse me?" Dr. Harvey tilted his head.

"I'm the McFadden family's afterlife
caseworker." The woman continued. "I have an appointment with
them today. May I come in?"

"O…kay. Sure." The therapist opened the door
and let the woman in.

"My name is Gwen, by the way." The blonde
extended her hand to Dr. Harvey.

"Don't worry, sweetie. I can't remove a soul unless
that person's name is on the list… and your father's isn't." Gwen
chuckled. "…If you like, I can explain."

The group moved in to Dr. Harvey's office, and
Gwen leaned against the desk. "For years the media has been wrong
about soul reapers, but we can't come out in the open and correct
them. I'd like to… I mean, I haven't worn Gregorian robes in…
well, I never have, come to think of it."

"Anyway… we've long since organized
ourselves into ranks and every group deals with a different level of
the cycle of life." Gwen continued, stopping as she noticed Dr.
Harvey taking notes.

"…You don't mind if I jot some things down
for my research, do you?" James looked up when he realized the
reaper had gone silent.

"Just don't let it slip that you interviewed a
reaper." Gwen raised an eyebrow. "You'd get in a lot more
trouble than I would… and I doubt your peers would believe you."

"Gotcha." Dr. Harvey nodded.

The blonde reaper smiled and continued. "…So,
I'm what's called a sector leader. I govern the other reapers on
the Eastern seaboard of the American continent. And by that I mean
from the North Pole to the tip of Argentina. I make sure that people
are getting the right information at the right time in the correct
locations. Unfortunately, that's also why I'm here."

Gwen shifted her weight, crossing her arms
loosely. "Before Dr. McFadden died, I told him that I would make
sure he and Casper could cross over together. Unfortunately, I wasn't
able to make it to his beside on time. Dr. McFadden died… and
instead of staying with his son, he went downstairs to work on the
Lazarus. I saw him pass through the main hall, and ran to grab him,
but he'd disappeared by the time I got to the machine."

"So, you're just here to check up on Casper
then?" Kat asked, looking at the ghost sitting beside her.

"His uncles, actually." Gwen smiled at the
trio, who went through various gushing motions. "They're on a
contractual release from the Underworld to look after Casper until I
can find Dr. McFadden."

"Contractual release…?" Dr. Harvey looked up
at the reaper.

"I assume you've been here long enough to
conclude that they're obviously not the shining paragons of
humility and goodwill that they'd like you to believe…" Gwen
shot a sideways glance at the ghosts.

"No kidding." Kat interjected, half under her
breath.

"…Therefore, in exchange for working off their
sins and debt to the Underworld by watching out for Casper, I've
promised that the whole kit and caboodle can end up somewhere
decent in the Underworld." Gwen finished.

"Wait… it isn't March yet, is it?" Stinkie
started.

"Nope." Gwen crossed her arms. "It's
November, my dear… but a couple of souls that came down from here very recently had some interesting things to say about
you three."

"…Oops." Stinkie smiled sheepishly.

"So, wait… you mean they're not
supposed to be treating Casper like a maid?" Kat queried.

"Nope." Gwen shook her head. "They're
supposed to be supporting each other, you know… like a nice, normal
family?"

"But we're not really normal." Fatso
started. "…You know that."

"Yes, but you could at least try." Gwen
pushed off the desk. "Come on, fellas. This is it. If I have
to visit you one more time between now and our next actual
scheduled date, I'm revoking your contract."

"Oh, come on, Gwen!" Stretch started up.
"…We've just been under a little stress is all. That woman was
trying to get us destroyed! We had no choice but to act in
self-defense. …There's no need to get all 'Fear the Reaper'
on us."

"You want me to give you something to fear?"
Gwen stared the lanky ghost down, poking him in the chest. "Every
time I have to come and deal with you is time I could be doing
research to find Dr. McFadden. Every time I stop working, the
information changes. Souls don't have good memories, you
know that. Every time I have to come up here to tell
you to be nice to your nephew is time I could be looking for his
father so you guys can get out of here, and it's time that you are wasting."

Stretch started to mouth a comeback, but couldn't
find anything that couldn't be thrown back in his face, so the
ghost opted to set his jaw and remain silent.

"I will be back in three days." Gwen
started towards the door. "If you are not back up to snuff by then,
I will be forced to take you downstairs."

"Downstairs?" Dr. Harvey queried.

"They're going to be placed in Tartarus."
Gwen walked out of the room, disappearing into the shadows. "They can finish
absolving the choices they made in life the old-fashioned way."

Question: I've seen various 'fleshie' names for the trio bandied about, as well as the first name of Dr. McFadden. Can anyone tell me what's canon (and if not... what I should go with)?

The author would like to thank you for your continued support. Your review has been posted.